The resounding defeat showed there are issues left to address. Duquesne defeated St. Bonaventure 75-57 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Saturday’s game saw the Bonnies drop to 15-4 (3 -3) while the surging Dukes are now 9-9 (4-1). Numbers and notes…
Possessions: 62
Offensive Efficiency: Duquesne 121, St. Bona 92
The 121 efficiency allowed by the Bona defense was not the highest in their conference games thus far. Bonnies also surrendered a 121 against VCU but wound up pulling that game out.
Four Factors:
eFG Pct.- Duquesne 58, St. Bona 41
FT Rate- St. Bona 42, Duquesne 12
OREB Pct.- St. Bona 28, Duquesne 23
TO Rate- Duquesne 10, St. Bona 15
Points of Emphasis:
Three point defense- Bonnies had a better free throw rate largely due to Duquesne’s proficiency from three point range. Simply, if you shoot from three it is more difficult to get to the charity stripe. Dru Joyce’s group shot 14 of 34 (41%) from deep. The Dukes scored 56% of tier points from downtown.
On the season the Bonnies are allowing a 33% mark overall, in opponent three point shooting. In the A10, it’s 37%, 13th in conference play.
“We didn’t guard,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt told gobonnies.com. “Give Duquesne credit, but you can’t get outscored by 33 from the 3-point line and expect to win…We didn’t do a good job on ball screens but we really didn’t do a good job guarding the ball at all.”
Bench. Chance Moore went scoreless in 12 minutes of action due to a foot injury. Bonnies were outscored 40-10 in points off the bench. The depth issue, specifically contributions, was not lost on Schmidt. “We need to get more production from the bench,” the coach said. “Injuries are part of the game. The bench has to respond and guys that are playing a lot of minutes need to be better.”
Moving ahead. Outside of an early six point lead by the visitors, this one was all Duquesne. As of Monday morning the A10 standings find the Bonnies just ahead of the middle of the pack. George Mason (5-1) leads with VCU, Duquesne and Saint Louis at 4-1. Next are the Bonnies, UMass and Rhode Island all at 3-3. Bona has dropped three of their last four conference games. On the horizon there are opportunities to make a move as two thirds of the season remain. Down the road the Bonnies need to return to defending the three as well as rebounding and limiting turnovers. More importantly, these tasks must be completed on a consistent…
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